Review of Movie "O" Film Adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello.

Essay by derekbaker1High School, 12th gradeA, June 2003

download word file, 2 pages 1.0

Review of "O"

The movie "O" directed by Tim Blake Nelson is a film adaptation of the famous Shakespeare play Othello. The film takes place in a private high school in the United States and revolves around the lives of the school's basketball players and in particular, Odin James, the Hawks' star player. Odin is a modern Othello that the age group watching this film can really relate to. That is what the objective of the entire movie is; to get teenagers interested in Shakespeare. Some may say that this tactic cheapens the great play but I feel that it merely allows people that would not normally be exposed to Shakespeare to enjoy his work, in a way that they can easily understand. "O" may seem like a poorly adapted version of the play but stays surprisingly true to the Shakespearean version and makes it more interesting by modernizing it and making characters that are easier to relate to.

The way "O" is modernized is a nice break from the Shakespearean language and settings that many of us do not entirely enjoy. Despite the fact that the language is severely different in "O", what is being said stays the same. Odin's final speech in "O" is as meaningful as Othello's in Othello but is just easier to understand. Hugo's long speeches to Odin can be understood with ease as well. The language is not the only aspect of "O" that is modernized, however, as the entire setting and the plot is also made for the youth of today. Instead of the main cast being in a war, they are part of a basketball team, battling for the state championship. Instead of being set in a castle, it is set in a high school. The differences such as those go...